01 / PRINCIPLES
How We Build
AI that serves people instead of harvesting them requires deliberate choices at every step. These are ours.
Privacy by default.
We don't collect what we don't need. When we do collect data, we tell users what it is, why we have it, and how to remove it. Privacy is a design constraint, not a compliance checkbox — it shapes what we build before we write the first line of code.
Supervised, not delegated.
AI is useful. It is not judgment. Every Seen Place product keeps a skilled human in the loop — reviewing output, steering tone, catching failures. We do not ship AI features and walk away. The human who built it is responsible for what it does.
Local-first when it matters.
For products handling the inner life — journals, reflections, personal history — data lives on the user's device by default. We use server infrastructure where the product genuinely requires it, not because it's easier for us.
Built by people who use it.
We don't build for a hypothetical user. The people who write the code use the products, file the bugs, and notice when something feels wrong. That proximity keeps the work honest.
Small and deliberate over fast and broad.
We are a small studio. We do not move fast. We take on a limited number of projects and try to do them well. When something isn't working, we say so and change it rather than shipping past the problem.
These principles apply to everything we ship under the Seen Place name — our own products and any studio work we take on. If a project can't be built this way, we don't take it.
Read about the El Roi Test →